


Neighbors

by pseudophoenix



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 16:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5548100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudophoenix/pseuds/pseudophoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gregor and Percy have been neighbors since they were twelve, but have always been a little wary of what happens behind the walls of the apartment next door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neighbors

**Author's Note:**

> That feeling when you get super nostalgic for your two favorite childhood series at once and need a crossover right now immediately.

Gregor had a pretty odd life, with a pretty odd family, and a pretty odd apartment building.

His pretty odd life consisted of fighting giant rats, living half his life under the city of New York, using bats as a regular mode of transportation, and being friends with royalty. His pretty odd family was made up of the best mom in the world, a traumatized father, an anxiety-ridden sister, and a fearless toddler.

Him and his weird family even lived in an equally weird apartment building. Besides the regular New York apartment things like cockroaches and too much lead in the pipes and it being too goddamn hot in the summer, there were other things that made Gregor’s life less than normal. Like, for example, the tunnel to the Underland in his basement laundry room. Or, how rats were able to flood the walls when they wanted to and scratch and scratch until they drove you insane. Little things like that.

On top of all that, there were some very odd neighbors. Nevermind Mrs. Cormaci from across the hall who read tarot cards and told your future, Gregor was more weary of the family that lived next door to him.

There was always something weird happening over in the apartment next door. Thumping and barking like a giant dog was prancing around the living room, strange boys appearing and disappearing from fire escapes, and other things too. Gregor’s mom was always complaining about the noise or the smell or something about the apartment next door, so Gregor tried his best to avoid the family.

The Jacksons had lived in the apartment next to his since Gregor was twelve, but he had never conversed with the mom, dad, or son his own age for more than five minutes on any one occasion. Gregor even went to the same high school as Percy now, but they’d never so much as crossed paths there.

...

Percy had a pretty odd life, with a pretty odd family, and a pretty odd apartment building.

His pretty odd life consisted of slaying monsters, navigating magic mazes, looking death literally in the face, and saving the world on many separate occasions. His pretty odd family was made up of the best mom in the world, an all-powerful earth-shaking father, a cyclops brother, and a handful of other mythological beings that mostly passed for human on good days.

Even through all that, Percy still found things to be freaked out about right here at home. The family that lived next to him and his mom and Paul, for example. The Campbells, he thought they were named.

There were two little sisters, one was really skittish and never did anything but stare at Percy when he tried to say hello. Another one was a toddler, and was really loud. Percy could hear her screaming through the walls sometimes. It drove his mother crazy, and made Percy happy he didn’t have any younger mortal siblings. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell always seemed a little odd to him, too, but he respected them because the mom worked two jobs and the dad stayed home with the kids. He’d chatted with them a couple times before, but not enough to really know too much about them. He’d spoken even less with their son, Gregor, despite going to school with him.

They only really saw each other on special occasions, like on days when they were both equally late for school and ran into each other in the hallway, or something.

Today was one of those days. Percy slung his backpack over his shoulder and rushed out of his apartment, racing for the elevator. Thank the gods it was working today. He got in and hit the button for the first floor and took a moment to try and straighten his wild black hair in the shiny metal interior of the elevator.

Before the doors could close all the way, Percy saw Gregor stumble out of his apartment, trying to put on a jacket and a backpack at the same time, while simultaneously dragging himself down the hallways towards the elevator. When he looked up and saw the doors about to close, he just about dropped everything to make a break for it. Instead of watching him suffer, Percy stuck a hand out to stop the doors from closing.

Gregor jogged down there with his backpack on one shoulder and one arm of his jacket on.

He got in and told Percy, “God, thanks, sorry.”

“No problem, man,” Percy replied. He went back to running a hand through his hair and trying to pat it down in places.

Once Gregor had his jacket and backpack on in the right order, he started plucking at his own wild brown curls, too. The elevator started its descent downwards.

“Hey,” Percy said, before he could stop his ADHD self from opening his mouth. “You’re Gregor, right?”

“Yeah,” Gregor replied. “And you’re... Percy?”

“Yep.” Percy could tell Gregor was only pretending to be uncertain about his name. The same went for Gregor, as well. “Do you walk to school?” Percy asked.

Gregor laughed. “Only when I miss the bus.”

“Same here, except usually I go to school about an hour earlier,” Percy explained. “Swim team and all.”

The elevator came to a stop and the doors rolled open.

Gregor shook his head as they stepped out of the elevator and started towards the building’s front doors. “I don’t know how you swim people do it. I do track  _ after  _ school and that’s plenty.”

Percy rolled his eyes. “No wonder swim wins more than track at our school.”

“Hey, it’s not us that suck, it’s our coach!” Gregor protested.

“You coach that doesn’t make you practice enough?”

The two of them pushed through the front doors together and out into the chilly late autumn air.

“You try having some hundred-year-old man telling you how many laps you’ve got to run and then sitting back to read some magazine.”

“Man, your coach sounds like this gym teacher I had in eighth grade.”

“He  _ could not  _ have been worse than Mr. Sanderson is.”

“Oh, you want me to tell you the story about the last ever dodgeball game I ever played in my life?”

“You’ve got five long blocks to tell it, dude. Impress me.”

“Okay, so once upon a time in alternative learning middle school...”

 


End file.
